Outside Dapan Fort, there was a huge crowd of thousands of people, marching to a place one or two miles away from Dapan Fort. These people's clothes were in tatters, and they had nothing on their shoulders except hoes, sticks and rakes.
Liu Yan led the four banners of Wang Yue, Wang Bo, Xu Ming, and Miao Shao to the north of Dapanbao. The small banner officers Wang Yue and Wang Bo had already led their troops to line up on the left and right sides. Liu Yan and Miao Shao led the banners on the north side. In the middle, as the commander of the central army.
Xu Ming, on the other hand, led his troops who did not collect their flags at night and rode their horses to sweep the formation in front, trying to use the momentum of the cavalry's attack to stop the thousands of hungry people in front.
Liu Yan braved the cold wind blowing in front of him and looked at the approaching wave of hungry people in the distance. He saw that every one of those hungry people looked ashen and staggered. At first glance, they looked a bit like cannon fodder in later movies and games. Zombies.
Seeing this, Liu Yan also made up his mind and shouted loudly: "Raise the gun!"
The flag officers Wang Yue, Wang Bo, and Miao Shao all ordered and shouted: "Lancers, raise your guns!"
In an instant, a total of forty-five spearmen from three flags formed a nearly 100-meter defense line, and another forty-five gunners were also ready to kill the enemy at any time.
At the same time, Xu Ming led Ye Wuhou to withdraw from the front, and shook his head at Liu Yan on his horse, saying that he failed to lead his troops to push back the hungry people.
Liu Yan was not depressed. This was also reasonable. How could thousands of hungry people be forced back by a cavalry of just a few dozen people? You must know that most of these hungry people had never seen the power of a cavalry. Facing a cavalry, they had no chance. Don't know fear.
"It seems that today is destined to see blood!"
Soon, the two parties gathered together. In just a moment, the hungry people were like a tide, pushing and shouting back and forth, taking one more step forward like ocean waves, but then they shattered on the rocks, and in an instant The tide turned back and its momentum suddenly stopped.
At this time of contact, the defense line of Dapanbao's Dunjun was as solid as a rock. The three small flag officers Wang Yue, Wang Bo, and Miao Shao stood in front and shouted loudly. Although many of the more than one hundred Dunjun were afraid, they But they didn't retreat at all, everyone was roaring and fighting.
In the blink of an eye, a hundred or dozens of hungry people were covering their wounds, groaning and rolling on the ground. The hungry people behind could not see the situation in front of them, and they were still crowding forward. Hundreds of hungry people gathered in the market like this. In front of the battle line of the fort soldiers, they were suddenly huddled together, unable to advance or retreat.
The Yanling Sword in Liu Yan's hand also killed two people, but looking at the scene in front of him, he knew in his heart that these hungry people were going crazy with hunger. However, the screams of so many companions, coupled with the rock-solid resistance of the soldiers of Dapanbao, After a moment of fierce fighting, these people who were supposed to be "submissive people" finally woke up. Slowly, the hungry people stopped one by one, as if wooden sculptures were nailed to the ground, and stopped moving forward.
On one side was the numbness that was shattered, and on the other was the tension under the pressure of the huge crowd of people. At this moment, both sides had no words, only heavy breathing and the cries of the unlucky ones on the ground.
Liu Yan immediately ordered the flagbird gunners to fire their guns into the sky. With a roar, the thousands of hungry people were completely stopped, and even the crowd behind them stopped moving forward.
Then Liu Yan yelled and waved, and the flag officer Xu Ming immediately led the soldiers who did not collect the flag at night and rushed out. They circled the crowd on the opposite side and kept shouting, ordering everyone to put down their weapons and kneel down to wait for their surrender.
Under such coercion, the group of hungry people in front suddenly woke up, and then they all knelt down with a roar.
"Military gentlemen, please do a good job and give us a mouthful of food!"
"The grace of survival will never be forgotten for the rest of my life!"
"You guys are so pitiful, our whole family hasn't had anything to eat for three days!"
Liu Yan looked ahead and saw thousands of hungry people crying, kneeling on the ground and pounding their heads like garlic.
"After eating this meal, what about the next meal? Besides, we must win over rice and fight against rice..."
Then Liu Yan shook his head and sighed. He knew a lot about doing good but getting into trouble.
So Liu Yan asked several small flag officers to command the soldiers to come forward and take custody of the hungry people. He found a place to sit down, frowning and thinking for a long time, how to deal with the thousands of hungry people in front of him, but after thinking for a while , Liu Yan didn't think of any way to get the best of both worlds.
Just when Liu Yan was about to send someone to contact Wangjiazhuang and abandon these hungry people, he suddenly saw the Dunjun troops he had trained in front of him, staring at the hungry people with blazing eyes, guarding them against any further movements. They were extremely eye-catching in the crowd. .
Got it!
Liu Yan's eyes lit up. He originally wanted to take in all these hungry people, turn them into military households on the spot, and live in farming in various places in Dapanbao.
However, with such a large population digested at the same time, Liu Yan had to provide these hungry people with food, clothing, shelter, reclaim land, etc. Even the current Dapanbao may not be able to bear such a large amount of expenses. At most, they can only leave behind A small portion of the population.
What's more, the cultivated land around Dapanbao is now close to saturation. If you want to reclaim wasteland, you have to go further, and you will have to conflict with the surrounding Huoludun and Tunbao. These are all contradictions and problems. Although Liu Yan had the intention to swallow these thousands of hungry people, the actual conditions did not allow it, so Liu Yan had to find another way.
So now Liu Yan could only find another way to solve the problem of thousands of hungry people on the spot.
So Liu Yan called several small flag officers and made arrangements immediately. Everyone was stunned when they heard Liu Yan's plan. After a long time, they nodded like chickens pecking at rice. This is a good idea!
But then the heads of several small flag officers were shaking like cattail fans.
Chen Xun said worriedly: "Chief A, these people are all hungry people. They are not chickens and ducks. How can we feed them?"
Xu Ming also said: "That's right, Commander Jia, we can't open this charity hall in our fort. The money and food in the warehouse are all saved by everyone's hard work."
But Liu Yan looked at everyone and laughed. What solution did Liu Yan propose?
Buy people!
There is nothing left for these thousands of hungry people. If they give food directly, not only will it not solve the problem, but it will also leave too many disasters.
But the hungry people did not really have nothing. They still had children.
Turning charity into a transaction, both parties are equal, so there is no need to worry about the grudges that may follow. It's just that Chen Xun and several small banner officials are worried that Dapanbao cannot support these people.
"How can I not afford it? I only want half-grown children, not even the old or the weak!"
Children between the ages of eight and fourteen, regardless of gender, are given three taels of silver and one hundred catties of grain. Whether it is food or money, it is all paid directly from the warehouse of Dapanbao.
Then Liu Yan sent Chen Xun to negotiate, and asked the hungry people to introduce representatives and talked to Liu Yan about the matter. None of the thousands of hungry people had a word.
At the same time, Liu Yan asked the representatives of the hungry people and learned that most of them were people in Anqiu, Qingzhou Prefecture. Since the locust plague, they had lost their livelihood this year. After winter, many people froze to death. During the migration, On the way, I heard about the wealth in Dapanbao, so I was so hungry that I came to loot Dapanbao.
Liu Yan saw that most of these hungry people were young and middle-aged children, and there were only a few elderly people and children. It was no wonder that the weak ones were all dead. So he proposed that he would provide food to buy people, and the hungry people would use people to get food to survive, and Liu Yan would get manpower to expand his strength.
In times of disaster, sons and daughters were sold for two or three cents each. Now that Liu Yan had given such a price and included food, no matter how you thought about this kind of transaction, he was taking advantage.
But the problem comes again. There are only 1,780 eligible children. People who sell their children can live on, but what about those who have no children?
Facing the eager representatives of the hungry people, Liu Yan spoke again: "I can leave fifty households and turn them into military households for farming in Dapanbao, but the population of these fifty households must be young and strong."
"But there are still hundreds of families. Out of kindness, sir, why don't you let us all stay."
Liu Yan looked at the representatives of the hungry people who came to negotiate, and said expressionlessly: "I don't have any extra land here. Being able to keep fifty households is already the end of my kindness and righteousness. You can't push yourself too far! You can discuss this matter among yourselves. Those who have money and food can borrow or sell them, but we have no control over them."
Liu Yan told the representatives of the hungry people that anyway, he would give more than 500 taels of silver and more than 17,000 kilograms of grain, and the rest would be coordinated by the hungry people themselves. In this kind of matter, the more you do, the more mistakes you make. It is better to let the hungry people make their own decisions.
At this point, not to mention Chen Xun and other small banner officials, even the representatives of the hungry people were dumbfounded. It turned out that the matter could still be discussed in this way.
The charity matter has become a transaction, and we can completely withdraw from it and leave all the interests and grudges to the hungry people themselves. How can things be done like this! ?
"If you have money and food, you can't just ignore others, right?"
Liu Yan asked the hungry representative who was still hesitant. The leading hungry representative gritted his teeth and finally nodded helplessly. This matter was thrown to him, which was a huge responsibility. He had to convince the family who sold their children. Let’s see how we can take care of the families who have no children to sell.
"Chief A, I knew you were doing good deeds, but I didn't expect you to be so..."
Chen Xun stood beside him and talked tangledly, but he couldn't find the words to describe Liu Yan's behavior.
"I just think that since they can stick together and come so far to grab our fortress, they can also stick together and take care of each other to tide over the difficulties."
Liu Yan's calm words made the representatives of the hungry people feel ashamed.
Just as he was talking about this, the hungry people suddenly started to stir, and all the Dunjun troops also looked in the same direction. They saw a group of people rushing towards the southeast of Dapanbao. The flag was from Wangjiazhuang Baiyun. The people and horses in the household.
The team officer Wang Wenzhen came in person. Not only did he mobilize the two hundred soldiers and young men from Wangjiazhuang, but the chief flag officer Jia Hongyu also pulled out more than seventy servants to deal with the thousands of hungry people. came prepared.
"The surrounding areas have been blocked by the army. Even if you cause any trouble, you will still be unable to fly!"
A moment later, the team officer Wang Wenzhen shouted breathlessly at the thousands of hungry people kneeling at his feet.
"Since Dapanbao has provided guarantee for you, you have stepped back from the brink and no one has been hurt. This matter will not be held accountable. I will coordinate with all parties and distribute some rations to you. After you get the rations, you will Return to their respective hometowns as soon as possible..."
The reprimand of a hundred-household official was like a big hammer, hitting the heads of thousands of hungry people hard on the ground, splattering pieces of fine soil.
Then Wang Wenzhen left Jia Hongyu to cooperate with several small flag officers of Dapanbao to deal with these hungry people here. Liu Yan also sent people to bring more than 170 children he bought into Dapanbao.
Liu Yan pulled Wang Wenzhen into the fort to rest, and the two of them sat down in the general flag hall. Wang Wenzhen couldn't restrain the joy in his heart, not to mention that Liu Yan had led his troops to help annihilate the bandits in Tiechu Mountain, and the seaside pirates. Just say this time, if Liu Yan hadn't brought the more than 100 pier troops of Dapanbao to suppress the situation, these hungry people would have definitely bloodbathed Dapanbao. Several fire road piers around it would be even more difficult to save. By then, my own The year-end evaluation will be ruined.
Not only that, Wang Wenzhen was also heartbroken on the way here as to how to accommodate the thousands of hungry people. Money must be allocated for this matter, otherwise the hungry people will definitely continue to make trouble, and blood will definitely be shed.
But now the money in Wangjiazhuang is the money in Wang Wenzhen's own pocket, and he seems to be bleeding out no matter what. Unexpectedly, Liu Yan bought the children of these hungry people and temporarily settled them. As long as you drive these hungry people back to their original place, go to the Thousand Households House in front of Xiahe Village to do some activities, and ask the Shangguan to give them a hand, so that these hungry people can breathe a sigh of relief, the matter will be settled in the immediate area, and the solution in the distance is Write down the states and counties where these hungry people are from and ask them to come and collect them as soon as possible.
